Is it fair to say there is a leadership vacuum in the auto industry?
Akio Toyoda must feel like he is jinxed. Since becoming president of his family's company in 2009, he has been buried under an avalanche of troubles -- the worst skein of bad news in the company's history.
The earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan last month also had a major impact on the country's trade balance.
Toyota president Akio Toyoda said he has no intention of moving more production overseas in the wake of Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami, but that Japanese factories will need a couple of months to get completely back online.
A principal ingredient in Toyota's success has been the job of the chief engineer, or shusa. Unlike a chief engineer at GM or Ford, whose role is essentially coordination, the Toyota shusa has complete responsibility for a vehicle, beginning with its conception and sometimes lasting through its entire sales life. Besides engineering decisions, the shusa is responsible for a program's business success. He defines a vehicle's intended market and is responsible for hitting targets of cost, weight, performance, and quality.
A principal ingredient in Toyota's success has been the job of the chief engineer, or shusa. Unlike a chief engineer at GM or Ford, whose role is essentially coordination, the Toyota shusa has complete responsibility for a vehicle, beginning with its conception and sometimes lasting through its entire sales life. Besides engineering decisions, the shusa is responsible for a program's business success. He defines a vehicle's intended market and is responsible for hitting targets of cost, weight, performance, and quality.
Moving ahead with a partnership announced in May, Toyota is working on a potential new electric car with California's Tesla Motors, a source at the Japanese automaker said.
Prepping for a television show like Squawk Box is a bit like cramming for a test: Each night I need to review piles of news stories and analysts' reports on the business issues of the day.
Toyota returned to profit for the fiscal year ending in March, despite the continuing economic downturn and a series of recalls that rattled consumer confidence in the United States, the Japanese automaker said Tuesday.
Toyota returned to profits for the fiscal year ending in March, despite the continuing economic downturn and a series of recalls that rattled consumer confidence in the United States, the Japanese automaker said Tuesday.
At 77, Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of Toyota, is still causing trouble for the automaker.
On the surface, Toyota would seem to be surviving its sudden acceleration crisis in remarkably good shape.
Toyota fired another volley this week as it continued its fight to regain the confidence of owners shaken by reports of unintended acceleration.
At the Geneva Auto Show, Senior Executive of Toyota Motor Europe discusses how the division is dealing with the recall.
The head of Toyota Motor Corp. told his employees on Friday that the company must begin again if it is to regain its legacy of quality that helped make it the world's largest automotive company.
The president of Toyota said he takes full responsibility for safety issues in the company's cars and vowed to regain the trust of customers in his first interview after appearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Akio Toyoda talks about his company's recalls, and his testimony on Capitol Hill, with CNN's Larry King.
Perhaps the highlight of the head of Toyota's trip to Washington happened not on Capitol Hill, but when speaking before U.S. Toyota dealers at the National Press Club after giving hours of testimony before U.S. legislators.
Akio Toyoda's voice is shaky and strained as he thanks workers and customers at the National Press Club Wednesday.
CNN's Kyung Lah explains why some U.S. lawmakers may find Toyota's Akio Toyoda's responses evasive.
Akio Toyoda: Toyota Motor Corp. has recalled more than 8 million vehicles in connection with possible unintended acceleration. Separately, the 2010 Toyota Prius was the subject of a recall due to complaints about its brakes.
Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda resolves to restore the trust of customers.
Akio Toyoda's appearance before U.S. legislators on Wednesday represents not just a fact-finding mission by committee members and a public relations move by Toyota, but a clash of cultures that in many ways created the recall controversy.
Lawmakers grilled Toyota's president, Akio Toyoda, in a hearing Wednesday aimed at discovering, among other things, why the automaker was slow to respond to safety issues related to sudden acceleration.
Stocks rallied Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke again pledged to keep interest rates low for the foreseeable future, reassuring investors worried about the outlook for the economy.
Jim Press, the former head of Toyota's U.S. operations and the only non-Japanese ever to sit on the automaker's board of directors, released a statement today blaming the company's troubles on "financially oriented pirates" who "hijacked" the company some years ago.
In making his debut before a congressional committee, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda could be forgiven for feeling the anxiety of any novice facing an audience for the first time. However his stagecraft is graded, failing marks should go to those who wrote his script and directed his performance.
CNN's Kyung Lah looks at Toyota's president, Akio Toyoda, as he prepares to face U.S. lawmakers.
As Akio Toyoda prepares to testify before a U.S. congressional committee in Washington on Wednesday, the midnight lights of television sets will glow in corporate offices and government halls in Tokyo.
Stocks tumbled Tuesday after a key measure of consumer confidence plunged, reflecting investors' growing pessimism about the strength of the economic recovery.
Akio Toyoda, the president of Toyota, acknowledged in prepared remarks made public Tuesday that the automaker's efforts to expand resulted in lax safety standards and pledged new steps to ensure quality control.
Toyota said Monday it has received a federal grand jury subpoena for documents relating to the unintended acceleration of its vehicles and braking systems in the Toyota Prius.
In his most complete explanation of the problems that beleaguer Toyota, the company president said "we failed to connect the dots" with accelerator problems in the United States and Europe.
Toyota gets a federal grand jury subpoena for documents relating to problems with the Prius and other models.
In an internal presentation, Toyota staffers boasted of the company saving $100 million by negotiating a limited recall for Toyota Camry and Lexus ES cars over a problem that could cause unintended acceleration.
The head of Japanese automaker Toyota will testify in Washington. CNN's Kyung Lah reports.
Toyota announced a voluntary safety recall of about 8,000 four-wheel-drive Tacoma trucks in North America, citing potential production defects in the front drive shaft of certain 2010 models.
Toyota president Akio Toyoda accepted on Thursday a formal invitation to testify at a hearing to be held next Wednesday.
The U.S. will open an investigation Thursday to probe possible steering issues on about 500,000 Toyota Corollas.
Toyota will employ new quality control officers, conduct testing and will consult an independent research agency to fix their vehicle problems, the automaker's president said Wednesday.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda said Wednesday he has no plans to appear before a U.S. Congressional committee next week.
CNN's Poppy Harlow has an update on how one Toyota dealer is handling the high number of repairs.
Toyota announced a voluntary safety recall of about 8,000 four-wheel Tacoma trucks in North America, citing potential production defects in the front-drive shaft of certain 2010 models.
The question is being raised more and more: Can Toyota recover its reputation?
The decision by Toyota to recall thousands of its 2010 Prius models due to a problem with the braking system seriously threatens the reputation of the world's best-selling hybrid car.
Public relations expert Robert Dilenschneider says Toyota's crisis is bigger than a simple repair job.
CNN's Kyung Lah reports on Toyota's latest recall: more than 400,000 hybrid cars worldwide.
Toyota's president apologized profusely Tuesday as he announced the global recall of more than 400,000 of the automaker's 2010 hybrid models, including the popular Prius, for problems in their anti-lock braking systems.
Japanese automaker Toyota is set to announce a global recall of its 2010 Prius hybrid vehicles. CNN's Kyung Lah reports.
Toyota's president apologized profusely Tuesday as he announced the global recall of more than 400,000 of the automaker's 2010 hybrid models, including the popular Prius, for problems in their anti-lock braking systems.
As Toyota's troubles mount, the automaker is gearing up for a new front in the battle to salvage its once-sterling image and credibility: Capitol Hill.
Toyota's president apologized profusely Tuesday as he announced the global recall of more than 400,000 of the automaker's 2010 hybrid models, including the popular Prius, for problems in their anti-lock braking systems.
Toyota is to issue a formal recall in Japan of its latest-model Prius petrol-electric hybrid, and may do the same in the US and other markets, following complaints about problems with its brakes, people close to the situation said.
Toyota Motor chief executive Akio Toyoda apologized Friday for the problems that led to the company's recall of more than 8 million cars. But he did not announce any solution for brake problems of its popular Prius hybrid.
The last time anyone looked, Toyota was a Japanese company controlled by a Japanese family. But during the entire accelerator recall crisis -- now complicated by brake problems with the Prius -- they have been all but invisible.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced Thursday it is opening a formal investigation into problems with the braking system of Toyota's Prius hybrid.
Toyota is set to provide details about its plan to fix recalled gas pedals in the United States early Monday morning.
CNN's Justin Armsden talks with Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone to discuss the season that had its ups and downs.
Toyota, the largest car manufacturer in the world, has announced it is pulling out of Formula One.
Toyota Motor has decided to follow Honda and BMW out of Formula One racing to save costs as the Japanese carmaker braces for its second straight annual loss, a person with knowledge of the situation said on Wednesday.
Even though he has the same last name as five of the 10 previous presidents of Toyota Motor, Akio Toyoda is nothing like his predecessors.
Toyota must start again, "from the bottom up," new president Akio Toyoda said Thursday.
The "prince" is taking the wheel of Toyota as the world's largest automotive manufacturer stands at a crossroads.
Japan's top automaker Toyota reshuffled its leadership Tuesday after posting a 4% decline in sales for 2008, with the grandson of the company's founder becoming president.
Japan's top automaker Toyota reshuffled its leadership Tuesday after posting a 4 percent decline in sales for 2008, with the grandson of the company's founder becoming president.
CNNMoney: Asian markets slumpupdated: Tue Jan 20 2009 03:57:00
Asian and Pacific stocks slid Tuesday, with Tokyo's benchmark index ending down more than 2% and Hong Kong dropping 3%.
A fair amount of crocodile tears are being shed on this side of the Pacific over the travails of Japanese automakers.
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